Muslim American Society President Loses Virginia Primary Election

Muslim American Society President Esam Omeish has lost the June 2009 Democratic primary in Virginian House District 35. According to election results, Dr. Omeish finished 3rd out of four candidates with 15.7% of the vote as opposed to the 55.1% received by the winner in a landslide result. Dr. Omeish was also reported to be the top donor to his campaign contributing $52,000 of the some $90,000 total contributions. Dr. Omeish also received three contributions from the International Institute Of Islamic Thought (IIIT) and related businesses:

$3,500 International Institute of Islamic Thought

$2,000 Reston Investments

$1,500 Mar-Jac Investments Inc

IIIT is part of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood.

In addition, Dr. Omeish received two contributions from Aly R Abuzaakouk and his family:

$1,100 Aly R Abuzaakouk

$2,000 Anas Abuzaakouk

According to an online cv, Mr. Abuzaakouk is Executive Director of the American Muslim Council (AMC), has served as an active member of the organization since its inception in 1990 and is also currently the Vice-President of the Minaret of Freedom Institute. Both organizations are tied to the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood.

The Investigative Project had reported before the election on what it called the “stealth campaign” conducted by Dr. Omeish:

On Friday, MAS issued a call for Election Day volunteers. Although the solicitation does not mention Omeish, it was distributed through Omeish’s Falls Church mosque, the Dar al-Hijrah Islamic Center. According to a May 9 story on the swine flu outbreak, Omeish was still an imam at Dar al-Hijra just weeks ago. He remains listed as a member of the mosque’s board of directors. The email appealed for 100 “Muslim Activists” to volunteer to work the election. “If you would like to volunteer to learn direct on hands grassroots political organizing, be a volunteer in the Virginia Primary,” it said. It gave the telephone number for MAS-Freedom, the Society’s political arm. In addition, a glowing article on Omeish was issued by MAS-Freedom May 28. It emphasizes that, if elected, Omeish is the only physician in the field and that he would be the first Muslim to serve in the Virginia State House. The article was written by Aishah Schwartz, whose biography notes her work with MAS-Freedom. It contains a disclaimer saying the article, which makes a passing reference to the other three Democrats in Tuesday’s primary, “should in no way be interpreted as a political endorsement” and notes MAS’ non-profit status as a 501(c)(3) charity.

The MAS was identified in a recent Hudson Institute report as a part of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood and closely tied to the Egyptian organization.

Dr. Omeish drew national attention two years ago when he was appointed to a Virginia state immigration commission on Immigration. Omeish resigned less than a day later, after online emerged in which he accused Israel of genocide against Palestinians and exhorted Muslims to “the jihad way.” An earlier post discussed Dr. Omeish’s reactions to his forced resignation from the immigration commission.

Another post recently reported that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the State Department invited Dr. Omeish to a National Conference Call to discuss reaction to President Obama’s Speech to the Muslim World.